Kokoda (by Peter FitzSimons)

For Australians, Kokoda is the iconic battle of World War II, yet few people know just what happened and just what our troops achieved. Now, best-selling author Peter FitzSimons tells the Kokoda story in a gripping, moving story for all Australians.

Japanese Destroyer Captain: Pearl Harbor, Guadalcanal, Midway - The Great Naval Battles Seen Through Japanese Eyes

This highly regarded war memoir was a best seller in both Japan and the United States during the 1960s and has long been treasured by historians for its insights into the Japanese side of the surface war in the Pacific. The author was a survivor of more than one hundred sorties against the Allies and was known throughout Japan as the Unsinkable Captain.

What made the experience of listening to Japanese Destroyer Captain the most enjoyable?

The Japanese perspective of the naval war in the Pacific, as well as his observations on the Japanese High Command and political system. He brought a human face to the Japanese fighting men.

What was one of the most memorable moments of Japanese Destroyer Captain?

His observations and discriptions of the Soloman Islands Campaign. The Americans use of Radar, Tactics and industrial might vs that of the Japanese.

Any additional comments?

this book was writen before the release of information on Allied decoding of Japanese radio transmissions. While Hara was a Torpedo expert, he wrote Japans pre-war manual, he was silent on the very poor performance of American Torpedos.

The Battle of Midway (Pivotal Moments in American History)

There are few moments in American history in which the course of events tipped so suddenly and so dramatically as at the Battle of Midway. At dawn of June 4, 1942, a rampaging Japanese navy ruled the Pacific. By sunset, their vaunted carrier force (the Kido Butai) had been sunk and their grip on the Pacific had been loosened forever. In this absolutely riveting account of a key moment in the history of World War II, one of America's leading naval historians, Craig L. Symonds, paints an unforgettable portrait of ingenuity, courage, and sacrifice.

What other book might you compare The Battle of Midway (Pivotal Moments in American History) to and why?

This is a good book that has some very interesting new information, that some of the other books on Midway don't have. There are also flaws in this book as well, such as the deployment of the F4F Wildcat in 1942, Wildcats were operational in Dec 1941, on Wake and Midway, the F2B Buffalos deployed to Midway late in May-June of 1942 were sold to the Dutch government for their use in their colonies but absorbed into the USMC after Java and other Dutch colonies fell to the Japanese.

Would you listen to another book narrated by James Lurie?

I would have to be very interested in the book to listen to him again, I almost returned the book but the story held my interest.

Did you have an extreme reaction to this book? Did it make you laugh or cry?

No but remembering the sacrifice of the Torpedo Squadrons and VMF 211 is a part of the battle that needs to be remembered

Any additional comments?

Despite its short comings this is a book worth reading or listening too.

September Hope: The American Side of a Bridge Too Far

In September Hope, acclaimed historian John C. McManus explores World War II’s most ambitious invasion, an immense, daring offensive to defeat Nazi Germany before the end of 1944. Operation Market-Garden is one of the war’s most famous, but least understood, battles, and McManus tells the story of the American contribution to this crucial phase of the war in Europe.

If you could sum up September Hope in three words, what would they be?

American Airborne in Holland

What was one of the most memorable moments of September Hope?

The Eisenhower-Montgomery exchange in chapter 1 of the book.

Did the narration match the pace of the story?

I did not like Mr. Dixion as a narator/reader in fact I nearly returned the book because I did not like his style of narration. He seemed almost monotone, he tried to do accents, this did not go well and (personal item) he called I Company first company throughtout most of the book.

Six Days of War: June 1967 and the Making of the Modern Middle East

In Israel and the West, it is called the Six Day War. In the Arab world, it is known as the June War or, simply, as "the Setback". Never has a conflict so short, unforeseen, and largely unwanted by both sides so transformed the world. The Yom Kippur War, the war in Lebanon, the Camp David accords, the controversy over Jerusalem and Jewish settlements in the West Bank, the intifada, and the rise of Palestinian terror are all part of the outcome of those six days.

Yes. This is a good account of the events leading up to the Six Day War, it covers the Political relationships of the regional participants, as well as the relationship of super and world powers with the participants as well as how world events and public opinion affected those relationships. Intragovernmental and intraArab relations were examined. Military operation given less space, but this did not detract from the story,

Castles of Steel

In a work of extraordinary narrative power, filled with brilliant personalities and vivid scenes of dramatic action, Robert K. Massie, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Peter the Great, Nicholas and Alexandra, and Dreadnought, elevates to its proper historical importance the role of sea power in the winning of the Great War.

A World Undone: The Story of the Great War, 1914 to 1918

The First World War is one of history’s greatest tragedies. In this remarkable and intimate account, author G. J. Meyer draws on exhaustive research to bring to life the story of how the Great War reduced Europe’s mightiest empires to rubble, killed 20 million people, and cracked the foundations of the world we live in today. World War I is unique in the number of questions about it that remain unsettled. After more than 90 years, scholars remain divided on these questions, and it seems likely that they always will.

The Marne, 1914: The Opening of World War I and the Battle That Changed the World

The long-term repercussions of the Marne were tragic: four more years of what the future German military historian Gerhard Ritter, a veteran of World War I, called the "monotonous mutual mass murder" of the trenches. During that time, Britain and the Empire sustained 3.5 million casualties, France 6 million and Germany 7 million. Without the Battle of the Marne, places such as Passchendaele, the Somme, Verdun, and Ypres would not resonate with us as they do.

Colder than Hell: A Marine Rifle Company at Chosin Reservoir

Joe Owen tells it like it was in this evocative story of a marine rifle company in the uncertain, early days of the Korean War. His powerful description of close combat in the snow-covered mountains of the Chosin Reservoir and of the survival spirit of his Marines provide a gritty real-life view of frontline warfare.As a lieutenant who was with them from first muster in California, Owen was in a unique position to see the hastily assembled mix of some 200 regulars and raw reservists harden into a superb Marine rifle company. The action and narrative move fast as the company learns to fight under enemy fire, eat frozen rations, and keep pushing forward when its wounded and dead go down.

Tobruk

In the early days of April 1941, the 14,000 Australian forces garrisoned in the Libyan town of Tobruk were told to expect reinforcements and supplies within eight weeks. Eight months later these heroic, gallant, determined "Rats of Tobruk" were rescued by the British Navy having held the fort against the might of Rommel's never-before-defeated Afrika Corps.

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